Auto Shop-Turned-Arts Space and a Dog Park: The First Phase of the Arts Park at Walter Reed

• November 14, 2019

by Nena Perry-Brown

UrbanTurf has had an eye on the Arts Park at Walter Reed for several months now, as news broke that this portion of The Parks development would include a power plant-turned brewery and a firehouse-turned artspace. Now, more details are emerging for what else is on the boards at the Arts Park.

The development team has submitted new plans for the first phase of the Aspen Street Arts Park to the Historic Preservation Review Board (HPRB).

This phase would include adaptive reuse of the firehouse, which abuts The Brooks condo building at 1010 Butternut Street NW (map), and the historic former PX gas station, turning both properties into creative space. The paved lot in front of the gas station will be reconfigured to deliver a public plaza with stage, and an adjacent parking lot will be the site of a 10,000 square foot dog park.

The newly-paved plaza will have a mural painted on the surface, and the dog park will be divided into separate areas for large and small dogs and will include some agility equipment.

The application hints at the possibility of the firehouse being used as dance studio space, with two studios and an office on each of the two floors. The building will retain its original "Walter Reed Fire Dept. Co. 55" sign, and there will be outdoor seating against the replaced garage doors. The design team is also exploring either mounting backlit metal letters or a backlit mural panel on the hose tower on the southeast corner of the firehouse.

The HPRB is expected to consider these plans at its December meeting. The second phase of the Arts Park will involve the retrofit brewery and the site of a disused incinerator building; it will also require separate HPRB review. Additional renderings are below.

This article originally published at https://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/auto-shop-turned-arts-space-and-a-dog-park-the-first-phase-of-the-aspen-str/16139